Mother and daughter from Newham jailed for funding terrorism

Joseph Ogaba was 30 when he had left home in Finsbury Park in September 2014 to join the terrorist group, a court has been told.

His sister, 53-year-old Stella Oyella and his niece 32-year-old, Vanessa Atim, both of Newham, arranged for more than £1,800 to fund Ogaba between March and October 2017.

In July 2022, Syrian authorities reported that Ogaba had died whilst in prison, following his capture by Syrian Defence Forces.

Investigators were able to prove that Oyella and Atim knew that the cash was supporting Ogaba’s terrorist activities, and the evidence collected showed how they went to great efforts to cover their tracks, sending the money through contacts in Uganda and the Middle East.

Stella Oyella has been jailed (Image: Met Police)

On Monday (March 18), Oyella was sentenced to three years' imprisonment and Atim was jailed for three years and nine months for terrorist fundraising.

Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “These women went to great lengths to first arrange, and then distance themselves from money transfers to Ogaba. They knew he had travelled to Syria to join a terrorist group and by sending him cash, they helped him remain with Daesh.

“This case shows how we work with our international partners to close the net on people who support terrorist activity, no matter how much time has passed.”

In September 2014, Ogaba left London to Syria via Germany and Turkey. The Muslim convert left a note stating that he was going to join Daesh.

On March 18, 2918, and again on December 2018 that year, ports officers detained Atim at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports respectively.

Vanessa Atim (Image: Met Police)

On each occasion, devices were seized and the contents downloaded by officers. They recovered messaging app conversations with references to money transactions.

In 2019, detectives analysing a computer hard drive linked to Ogaba and scans of money transfer receipts were found.

The hard drive also held pictures of Ogaba, including evidence of his activities with Daesh, and extremist content with images of weapons and explosive devices.

It was determined that money was often transferred to someone in Uganda before it was pushed to contacts in the Middle East and then Ogaba.

Commander Murphy added: “The use of counter-terrorism powers by officers at the airport was crucial in discovering how Ogaba’s family members were supporting him financially.

“And it was the specialist skills of officers within our National Terrorist Financing Investigation Unit which helped pinpoint the transactions that led to this prosecution.”